Winners of Spellemannsprisen unveiled

This weekend saw the winners of the prestigious Spellemannspris - the Norwegian equivalent to the Grammy - unveiled. Odd Nordstoga was Saturday night's big winner with his 'Spellemann of the year' and 'Male artis of the year' awards.

The biggest smile at the Spellemannspris after-party was the one on Odd Nordstoga’s lips. The easygoing and down-to-earth vocalist and songwriter from the Telemark region took home a double header with his wins in the ‘Spellemann of the year’ and ‘Male artist of the year’. 2004 was a banner year for the vocalist who has sold more than 150 000 copies of his ‘Luring’ album that features folky and infectious tunes such as the landmark hit ‘Kveldssong for deg og meg’ which was one of last year’s major radio anthems.

The ‘Newcomer of the year’ category was won by one of the Norwegian music scene’s most hot-tipped acts these days; Annie, who’s poised for some intense months given the launch of her ‘Annimal’ in the UK on March 7.

The National Bank, a supergroup that features members from Jaga Jazzist and Big Bang took home the Pop Group awards while We’s smashing ‘Smugglers’ album secured them the Rock award. Sissy Wish outperformed favourite Bertine Zetlitz in the ‘Female artist of the year’ category with her strong debut ‘You may breathe…’.

New for this year was the controversial combination of electronica and contemporary into a joint category. The new and hotly debated category was eventually won by Jaga Jazzist and The National Bank member Lars Horntvedt for his ‘Pooka’ solo album.